By Kristy Gogolka, LGAQ Social Media and Corporate Communications Officer
TikTok is well known as a platform where users dance, lip-sync, and copy ‘viral’ choreography and trends. As the fastest growing social media platform in the world, the app is a boon for self-expression and provides millions with a medium to share creative and educational content, all within one minute or less. Townsville City Council is one of the first Queensland councils to take the TikTok plunge and they are now successfully using the platform to engage with the younger generation. Whilst Facebook videos struggled to get traction with younger residents, TikTok is now helping to fill the teen to the young-adult gap.
This is because the app is overwhelmingly popular with the 18-24 demographic. While the app is designed for everyone to express themselves, it has hit the nail on the head when it comes to engaging with Gen Z.
The beauty of TikTok from a c ouncil perspective is you can showcase parks, gardens, walking tracks, facilities, or any council-owned initiatives. You can control the content from a phone and be as creative as you want. Townsville City Council aims to highlight their initiatives and showcase the
personality of the council to build trust and connection with their community. Generation Z are highly driven individuals who crave educational content to help them make informed decisions. Multiple news outlets have jumped onto TikTok to help tell the narratives about news and trending information. They have been using this platform to help them connect with this generation and educate them on what is happening.
On TikTok, the hashtag #LearnonTikTok has almost seven billion views. This hashtag is becoming more and more popular because of the shift towards micro-learning. In a world where people are checking their smartphones nine times an hour and competition for attention is now extra fierce, it’s no wonder shorter digital learning content is becoming more popular. When publishing content to TikTok you need to consider how people want to consume that content.
TikTok has 800 million active users worldwide and has been downloaded over 2 billion times on the App Store and Google Play
About 500 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube each minute with more than 70 per cent of searches conducted on the platform related to ‘how-to’ videos. TikTok is on track to be the new platform to source educational content. A TikTok video is 15-60 seconds long and therefore the user can focus on one key message. You can use these seconds to hone in on one important key message. This platform is a great way for anyone to become a professional video editor because it provides you with filters, transition tools, and easy ways to edit audio.
TikTok’s algorithm is based off what you engage with, videos you like, videos you watch and your demographics. The app will profile you and show you content that is relevant to who you are as an individual. When creating content, think about what people want to watch. This will help your videos end up on the ‘for you’ page, which means more people can watch your content and consume your message.
The next generation is on the rise and now is the time to get them actively thinking about local government and what they can do for their communities. TikTok can be used in multiple ways to help everyone and anyone be informed. So, how is your council going to engage with the next generation?